Garmin CEO Cliff Pemble Takes on ADA Step Challenge
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends that everyone get up and move at least once every 90 minutes to counteract the health risks associated with sitting for long periods of time. To kick off this initiative, the ADA declared May 4th National Get Fit Don’t Sit Day and celebrated their second annual day of wellness by encouraging Americans to lead more active lives. This year, the ADA challenged CEOs from across the country to a step challenge. The 9 CEOs that competed wore a Garmin fitness tracker to see who could get the most steps in a day. They helped motivate their employees and set a good example that working in a traditionally sedentary environment doesn’t mean you can’t commit to staying active.
Garmin CEO, Cliff Pemble, took this challenge head on. “I try to maintain a good work/life balance, which can be difficult at times,” said Pemble. “I enjoy running in the morning, which is relaxing for me and gives me time to think about opportunities or difficult challenges we face.” On the day of the challenge, Pemble started off strong. He took a morning run to get a head start on steps before heading to work. Through his busy schedule, he took breaks during his mid-morning meetings to stand up and walk around. By noon, he met the employees outside for a lunch break stroll around the building. “The high point of the day has definitely been all the support and comradery from Garmin associates,” said Pemble. “It was incredible to see the huge group of Garmin associates that joined me for a walk over lunch.” Charles Brown, Market Director for the ADA’s Kansas and Missouri region, joined us at headquarters to participate in the noon walk. “This is the first year that the ADA has issued a CEO Fitness Challenge, and we’re very excited to see the momentum the challenge carried,” said Brown.
After his afternoon walk, Pemble already had over 23,000 steps and more meetings to attend, which meant more sitting! He kept a close eye on the Leaderboard and when he fell behind, it was time to get up and move again. “Things started out slowly for several participants, but I think the thrill of competition infected a large number of them, which is making for an interesting competition,” said Pemble. “I’m going to be working hard tonight to take the lead.” Pemble finished in second place with 53,537 steps, which is the equivalent of 31 miles!
Congratulations to all participants, and we encourage you to continue to work hard to Beat Yesterday!
